Sunday, August 20, 2006
Sunday from Oaxaca
Today is a relative day of rest after a busy training schedule. There have been some earthquakes, but everything is OK, I just thought I was dizzy. Here in Oaxaca there is civil unrest and the other night again, someone was killed. We are staying near the Zocalo (square) where the people are camped and protesting, but we foreigners are safe. On Friday night we went to a guitar recital, classical, Scarlatti and then
various classical Spanish composers, sitting in a beautiful rendered adobe enclosure, minimalist construction, beautiful lines, cream walls, one very low wide arch lit behind the guitarist, the sky above open and blue, going to dark and stars as the performance went on, in the background outside our place, some streets away voices, shouting and police sirens, then quiet and then again. It is quite strange and I was glad it was not a communist war and we were not the burgeoise sitting in a cultural event fearing for our safety.
I also struggle with imperialist travel attitudes and on occasion have achieved a more equitable travel style catching the metro (train), local buses and some little VW taxis is at least a concession to this, even in spite of the robbery. Unless you take the transport of the people of the country occasionally, then you cannot appreciate the crowds, the faces of people travelling to work, the grumpy, intolerant bus conductors, the friendliness of local men and women struggling with shopping bags, the diversity of social status and the ability to notice how these impact on peoples behaviour.
If I do the total turista trip I will have missed the country. Today I was at a market and would have stayed longer if possible, it was a local food and shopping market and there are so many small men, women and children coming from outlying villages to buy food and odds and ends. The women are small, brown skinned, often with bandy legs and a kind of swaying kind of walk, their hair braided in two plaits with coloured ribbons braided in, sometimes wound to the top of their head, sometimes haning to their waist. They wear colourful colours, hot pink, bright blue, reds, yellows and all kinds of embroideries on their blouses and shawls. They dress according to region and there are such an amazing array of local dress.
I was happy to be having chats with stall holders in spanish when buying bits
and pieces.
I have been to some amazing places and need time to be quiet and take it in, feeling full up of impressions. One place yesterday, ancient, so still, quiet, such dignified energy. I did not really want to leave, eagles soaring, birds hopping about entrances to tombs, no tourists except us, no guides, not much man made except the amazing edifices. An old old world. Pictures to follow
various classical Spanish composers, sitting in a beautiful rendered adobe enclosure, minimalist construction, beautiful lines, cream walls, one very low wide arch lit behind the guitarist, the sky above open and blue, going to dark and stars as the performance went on, in the background outside our place, some streets away voices, shouting and police sirens, then quiet and then again. It is quite strange and I was glad it was not a communist war and we were not the burgeoise sitting in a cultural event fearing for our safety.
I also struggle with imperialist travel attitudes and on occasion have achieved a more equitable travel style catching the metro (train), local buses and some little VW taxis is at least a concession to this, even in spite of the robbery. Unless you take the transport of the people of the country occasionally, then you cannot appreciate the crowds, the faces of people travelling to work, the grumpy, intolerant bus conductors, the friendliness of local men and women struggling with shopping bags, the diversity of social status and the ability to notice how these impact on peoples behaviour.
If I do the total turista trip I will have missed the country. Today I was at a market and would have stayed longer if possible, it was a local food and shopping market and there are so many small men, women and children coming from outlying villages to buy food and odds and ends. The women are small, brown skinned, often with bandy legs and a kind of swaying kind of walk, their hair braided in two plaits with coloured ribbons braided in, sometimes wound to the top of their head, sometimes haning to their waist. They wear colourful colours, hot pink, bright blue, reds, yellows and all kinds of embroideries on their blouses and shawls. They dress according to region and there are such an amazing array of local dress.
I was happy to be having chats with stall holders in spanish when buying bits
and pieces.
I have been to some amazing places and need time to be quiet and take it in, feeling full up of impressions. One place yesterday, ancient, so still, quiet, such dignified energy. I did not really want to leave, eagles soaring, birds hopping about entrances to tombs, no tourists except us, no guides, not much man made except the amazing edifices. An old old world. Pictures to follow
# posted by Deidre @ 2:08 PM 
